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Goosen moves further ahead
08/11/2002 18:02 - (SA)
Sotogrande, Spain - Retief Goosen played what he called probably his worst golf of the year, but still pulled further ahead of Padraig Harrington on Friday in his bid to retain his title as European No 1.
Goosen shot a 3-over-par 74 that he said could have been an 80 except for good putting. But with Harrington suffering a second bad day on the Valderrama course in the Volvo Masters, shooting a 5-over 76, Goosen is three shots better than his rival.
The 2001 US Open champion leads Harrington by just €23 119 and the Irishman must finish ahead of the South African, probably by several positions, to dethrone Goosen in this final European Tour event of the season.
Both were well off the pace being set by Angel Cabrera of Argentina, who held a 5-shot lead early in his second round, playing in the last group of the day.
"I played really badly, probably as badly as I've played this year. Fortunately I putted well or it could have been 80," Goosen, ranked fourth in the world, said.
He denied that pressure to retain the European No 1 ranking had anything to do with his form.
"I'm sure what I went through at the US Open last year was a lot worse than trying to win the Order of Merit again," he said.
Goosen three-putted the final green of the 4th round then, missing a two-foot second putt to fall into a playoff against Mark Brooks, whom he beat over 18 holes the next day.
Goosen parred the first seven holes on Friday, bogeyed the 8th and double bogeyed the short 12th where he bunkered his tee shot and splashed out over the green, chipping back 5 feet past and two-putting for a five.
He also bogeyed the 16th but birdied the long 17th.
Harrington also birdied the 17th - for both players that was the only birdie of the day. But five bogeys in the first 10 holes wrecked Harrington's chance of any recovery after his opening round of 74 and he also bogeyed the last.
He even had to play a shot left-handed after his drive at the long 4th finished two inches from a tree right of the fairway.
He turned over his 6-iron for the shot, struck it well but into the left rough some 150 yards away. He pulled his third shot up a slope, leaving a treacherous pitch, and he needed three more shots to get down.
Harrington 3-putted the 7th for bogey, missed a 7-foot par putt at the 9th after a poor drive and was unlucky at the 10th, where his approach hit six feet past the pin, kicked left against the collar of the green then spun back off the green down the slope to finish 60 yards from the hole.
"I just didn't play well. I actually played better yesterday although today I was better with the putter," the world No 8 said.
"I have no confidence when I'm hitting approach shots," he added. "You have to play these shots with confidence and I'm not a very confident person. That's just the way I am.
"I think too much. People who do that are not very confident."
But he has not ruled himself out. "You can turn it around in a day. Look at Cabrera's 63 yesterday. You can do that here."
Harrington needs to finish no worse than 27th to have a chance of overhauling Goosen, and that would mean the South African must finish last in the 66-man field. - Sapa-AP
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